The Commercial Modular Building Blog

Here is an interesting article that talks about the emerging trends in the architecture-engineering-construction sector. Mentioned in the article are trends towards more green and sustainable buildings, an industry-wide adoption of LEEDS, implementation of building sensors to monitor a building’s stability (among other things), greener building materials, and a growing trend towards modular construction. The author noted that trends towards modular construction seem to come in waves, but are now really taking hold for good due to economic reasons. Definitely an interesting analysis.

Housing is making its slow recovery as well, thanks to cost-effective modular houses and a growing demand for green, energy efficient, low-maintenance residences.

Another trend that could take hold is that of the modular nuclear reactor. We talked about this concept in a previous post. Nuclear reactor technology is growing cheaper to manufacture due to modular construction methods, and the reactors themselves have become much more safe according to a scientist in this article. Nuclear reactors will be smaller and modular in nature, so that reactors can be added or relocated if need be. They will also feature underground facilities, further reducing risk of disaster.

After Fukushima, it will be interesting to see how the public handles that proposal. But proponents are insisting that the modular reactors are an economically viable source of energy that is green and safe, and that the facilities at Fukushima were old designs that weren’t maintained as well as they could have been. So time will tell on that one.

All in all look for a future of green modular building designs that are seeking to improve building sustainability. Of course, not every building is going to be a modular building, but we will definitely see a higher proportion of them.  Also we will be seeing smart, self-regulating, net-zero energy buildings that will handle the self-regulating and energy-saving tasks with built in sensors and computer systems. These trends will continue into the future and don’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.

Many businesses have realized the benefits that adopting green policies and building/manufacturing guidelines can bring. For the past year we have been talking about the compounding advantages that green construction can offer:

• The duel recycling benefits of not only building with recycled material (and using less resources as a result) but building structures that themselves can be broken down and reused in another context, thus minimizing construction waste.
• The energy-saving insulation that’s inherent in a modular design. This cuts down on heating and cooling costs dramatically, and when used in combination with water-saving appliances and low-energy lights and appliances, reduces your overall footprint.
• The air quality-preserving indoor manufacturing process. This process allows construction processes to be carefully controlled, leaving the air contaminant-free at the actual build site.
• The commercial advantage of green building. Energy conservation and sustainability are on a lot of consumers’ minds these days. Offering a product that addresses these concerns allows for a favorable market-capture.

These are certainly great benefits. We’ve also talked about the fact that not only is the public demanding greener, sustainable products, but cash-strapped governments everywhere are looking for green, efficient products. Providing goods that address this need could be highly profitable, as there are government contracts everywhere. This article helpfully details the opportunities for government contracts out there.  

Another advantage more businesses could think about is this: offering green products help to further integrate your own employees by encouraging their own views. As we have said previously, green, sustainable products are on a lot of consumers’ minds lately. Chances are, that’s going to include a lot of your employees as well. This article details how you can get your employees more invested in your company, which includes representing their own views and interests…in this case, providing green and sustainable products. Definitely an interesting read, which apart from endorsing green processes and products, provides some wonderful insight into how to make your employees more productive overall.

There are always many ways to make a product and a business better and more efficient. Almost always, pursuing these ends themselves results in a more prosperous business overall.

The green movement has been quickly gaining ground in the past couple of years, especially after the vulnerable  recovery period following the recession. We found that we needed to start looking at more efficient and sustainable ways to use energy and resources for economic, social, and ecological reasons. Many began to take the green movement more seriously, and many companies adopted green standards in energy and sustainable practices, which led to more business activity and growth in services such as clean energy, thanks to the mobilizing effects of the green movement itself.  

Well, the green movement is going to become even more pronounced in the next few years, maybe even to the extent of it ceasing to be a movement and becoming the norm. This is due to the actual institutionalization of the movement, thanks to the General Services Administration.

If you read their “Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan,” you’ll find that the GSA is actively adopting a green/sustainability policy, and will advocate the spread of such practices throughout our government. This means that any business that would like to build government buildings or acquire other similar contracts will most likely be required to adhere to a certain green/sustainable standard in energy and resource use.

Soon it will become absolutely crucial for all construction methods to employ green, sustainable practices. Modular construction is often touted as being green through and through, which is correct. Modular buildings not only save resources by recycling materials and using available resources more efficiently, but they also save landfills from demolition waste, due to their reusability. Modular buildings also boast better insulation and containment ratings, which saves on energy.

This is definitely an encouraging trend. We will see higher efficiency in our building processes and better management of our limited resources and energy sources. We here at Allied Modular are happy to rise to the challenge.

While modular construction is slowly catching on in the commercial building sector, the situation in housing is a bit different but promising in its own way. Due to the relations between construction industries and companies, trends going on in a different sector of building can affect other sectors. Emerging trends in the housing industry could affect commercial construction trends and vice versa, due to new technologies and methodologies devised in a sector being adopted in another sector, which is why we are interested in what is going on in the housing industry at this moment.

Modular construction is slowly catching on in the housing industry as well as the commercial industry, for similar reasons in commercial construction, and different reasons as well.

Similar to commercial construction, housing construction is seeing a new wave of frugal, post-recessionary buyers looking to cut down on costs and improve efficiency. As we talked about before, downsizing is a big deal right now across construction industries. People are looking to save not only on rent but on energy and maintenance costs. You will hear the term “McMansion” again and again when talking about building trends that have fallen out of favor. No longer do buyers want grand, spacious houses and credit card debt. Buyers want small, manageable, sustainable properties in which they can live within their means. One architect comments astutely on this very trend. 

This also brings up the subject of the booming green movement. Green building is growing tremendously with all of the other green technologies as more and more consumers are demanding green-friendly product. Modular technology is inherently green, as we’ve discussed at length before. It is this frugality and concern for the environment that are attracting buyers to alternate construction methods such as modular building. An interesting article in the New York Times describes this trend as well.

Another reason for the increasing popularity of modular building in the housing industry is a bit different than commercial reasons. This reason has to do with aesthetics. Granted, aesthetics are important to the commercial realm as well, but functionality usually gains primacy in that realm. Of course, functionality has become very important in the housing realm also, but buyers also want their houses to look good.

Before technological advances and architect interests, modular houses were seen to be lacking in character and quality. Modular houses (or earlier known as prefabricated houses) would be cheaply stamped out of factories in uniform style. Now as some architects are looking into modular homes and their potential, we are beginning to see more personable homes of varying styles.

So for these reasons, modular construction is becoming highly desirable in the housing industry. The more people use modular construction in the various industries, the more the word gets out and the more the practice becomes the standard. That works for us.

Hopping aboard the green movement

One of the main functions of modern business is to recognize social movements and leverage that forward momentum, funneling buyers to relevant products and services.

Today’s growing green movement is one of those movements…and not just because it has “movement” in its name! We are at a critical point in history when the ideas of environmental conservation and sustainable living have become the agenda of the masses. Environmentalism is no longer seen as weak, fanciful, and superfluous, but absolutely necessary and a noble cause. This is all due to our growing realization (thanks to advances in science and technology) that our ecosystem really is delicate and that up to this point we have been destroying it. Now humanity as a whole is concerned with the well-being of the environment and the necessity of preserving it.   

Smart, growing businesses are taking advantage of this social movement, which is only adding to the beneficial practices of preserving the environment.

 In a time when the economy is hurting and job growth is stunted, the green industries are flourishing and green tech jobs are growing. This astounding fact is testament to the power of a social movement.

In this uncertain, constantly changing economy, it is good to know there is one driving idea that won’t change for a while: the idea that we need to develop green technologies and conduct business in an environmentally friendly manner.

So to reiterate, successful business that are surviving and growing in today’s economy are either entering into the green technology market or embracing green technology and investing in environmentally friendly processes as they manufacture their products or offer their services. Today’s consumers prefer green companies. The environment is on everyone’s mind, so everyone is going to prefer green products. They are also going to prefer doing business with the companies that can claim to be green friendly.

In the next post, I will talk about the usefulness of branding when it comes to surviving in today’s economy.

So I talked a bit about green buildings in the last post, how our modular buildings are made from recyclable materials and are reusable for a variety of applications.

But what does it mean to be a green building? Besides being recyclable and reusable? And what is all this talk about sustainability that has been going on? I seek to address those issues in this post.

A green building is not only made of recyclable materials, which is always a great feature, but is designed and built with many other aspects of environmental interaction in mind. Everything from water use, energy use, ventilation, to insulation and heating/cooling efficiency is considered when building a green building.

A modular building is made from recyclable materials and is reusable, yes, but there is more to the green benefits of modular construction. Modular walls have a higher insulating capability than drywall, so less energy will be used to heat and cool the building. Used with water-saving faucets and toilets, a modular building goes a long way in ensuring the building is environmentally friendly.

But where do we get the motivation to build green buildings in the first place? They’re a nice idea sure, but are they really necessary? Hopefully we want to answer, “Well of course they are!” But why? This is where the concept of sustainability comes in.

Sustainability pertains to the belief that we have limited resources to work with, but we didn’t always believe this.

Plants and trees grow, animals reproduce, rain replenishes our water supplies…all of these observable phenomena gave earlier generations the illusion that we have infinite resources to work with. Our planet’s natural life cycles replenish all of the resources we need. Nothing is created or destroyed…waste only breaks down to be recycled and used again, etc.

The problem is that this way of thinking is no longer relevant to what reality tells us. What we have learned with modern sciences and technology is that we are quickly depleting our resources.

Have you heard of the term “renewable?” Renewable resources are resources that replenish, so yes, we can draw from stores of renewable resources. The only problem is that these renewable resources require certain environmental conditions to replenish themselves. What we have been doing is using resources to the point of them no longer being renewable at their source. If you put enough of a strain on a self-replenishing system, that system will no longer have the ability to replenish itself. To cite an extreme example, you can cut your finger and your skin will heal and regenerate. Your body has that capacity. But if your hand or even your finger comes off, your body doesn’t have the capabilities of regenerating that hand or finger. That’s just not how it works. The same is the case with certain resources. If you draw water from a reservoir to the point of the reservoir drying up, that reservoir may lose the ability to retain water in the future.

Sustainability is a concept applied to our understanding of resources. When we say we want to develop a sustainable resource or design, then we want that resource or design to be fit for human use, but also to exist without damaging our ecosystem. Having a sustainable resource means we are using that resource moderately, but also allowing the resource to replenish, putting less of a strain on the ecosystem. By the same token, if we are working with a sustainable design, then that design, whether it is a car or building or appliance will be able to exist in our environment without putting a strain on resources.

Sustainable design in buildings pertains to a philosophy of design that incorporates considerations of the relation between the economic, ecological, and social spheres and the need for sustainable resources for consumption.

What this all means is this: we have come to understand that humans as a species exist within a delicate ecological system, or the environment. Our concept of the environment is no longer that of a simple background full of resources that we can fool around in all day. We have come to understand the environment as a complicated process that we are inexorably a part of. Everything we do affects the environment, which in turn can affect our society back, which can cause all sorts of economical changes as well. It is in this way that society, the ecosystem, and the economy are all connected. If we damage one portion of that relationship, the damage will eventually transfer to the other portions. It is this current understanding of our world that leads us to put so much weight on sustainable design.

Waste ends up in landfills and becomes unusable matter. Since sustainable building designs use recycled materials and are reusable, we don’t have to dig into the actual environment and extract raw materials. The longer we can put to use limited resources that we absolutely need, the longer our environment has time to recharge and replenish its resources to be used for future generations. Modular buildings are green by this very standard. They use recycled materials and the modular structures are reusable themselves, so the original raw materials get put to use in longer lifecycles, giving our renewable resources more time to recharge.

So to conclude, we exist as part of a delicate interrelation of human societies and ecosystems. If something harmful happens to an ecosystem, this in turn will damage human society and vice versa. It is in our best interest to build structures that use up as little of the environment’s resources as possible, so that in the future we can continue to have resources to work with.